12.03.2012

Carrot Crunch Gingerbread: Have A Grain Holiday!

Carrot Crunch GingerbreadIt is Really Good!It won first place in the recipe contest! *****My family LOVES so many of the flavors of the holidays -

cinnamon, pears, pumpkin, cranberry...and of course gingerbread.

One of my favorite things to do any time of the year,

but especially during the holidays is to bake.

Pretty much ginger anything does not last long in our house.Now for the confession...most of the "ginger treats" are not made by me.They are usually made by others...but this year,I am going to knock their socks off with a gingerbread creation

I truly
do believe that the best ingredients make a huge impact in the final
outcome of the recipe. I try to use whole wheat flour and high quality
ingredients to make my treats even better and a bit better for you, and have grown to prefer the taste (and of course any healthful benefits) whole wheat flours provide.

Last year I participated in the Hodgson Mill Have a Grain Holiday Recipe Contest with a savory recipe...and this year I am baking up a tasty sweet treat...

Carrot Crunch Gingerbread

This creation combines so many of may family's the favorite flavors with a twist on the traditional holidays flavors. Not only does is appeal to the gingerbread lovers in the house, also holds the moist and crunchy appeal of a carrot cake.

INGREDIENTS

2 Cups Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves (you can adjust this flavor to you liking)

1 Cup Molasses

1/2 Packed dark Brown Sugar (you can use light brown sugar too)

1 Cup Canola (or Vegetable) Oil

3 eggs

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1 Cup crushed pineapple (undrained)

2 Cups shredded carrots (you can buy shredded carrots or it took 3 large carrots to get my 2 cups in the food processor)

1 Cup shredded coconut

1 cup+ toasted pecans pieces

Topping, OPTIONAL

1 Cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces (If you love pecans, use 1 cup)

BAKE IT!1. Preheat oven to 350F2. Prepare pan by lightly greasing it or with a baking spray. I used butter to "grease" my pans.This recipe was tried in multiple pans:

4. Using a mixer, mix molasses, brown sugar, and oil - mix until combined; Add eggs and mix thoroughly; add vanilla. Continue to mix until all the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute on a medium speed.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly, until thoroughly combined.

6. Toast pecan pieces: Chop pieces (if necessary), (this was done in my counter top toaster oven) place on a foil lined try and toast on medium. In a conventional oven, place pecans on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 5-7 minutes.

7. Fold in the pineapple.8. Fold in the coconut.9. Fold in the carrots.10. Fold in the toasted pecans.

11. Pour into your prepared pan. This recipe was tried in multiple pans:

14. At 40 minutes, check you cake. If you need more baking time, add time in 5 minute increments.

15. Remove cake form oven and let it cool completely on a rack. (if you want to pour the glaze on while the cake it hot, the glaze just "melts" away quicker).

16. Drizzle the glaze all over the cake; Sprinkle with toasted pecans; drizzle more glaze over the cake. For mini fluted cakes, drizzle glaze and add pecans to each cake as you serve it. For Cake in a Jar - you cannot can the cake with the glaze and pecans, they must be added as you open the cake and serve it.

OPTION: I also made this without the carrots, and coconut. I added 2 teaspoons of orange zest and simply added the nuts on top.

25 comments
:

Owwww..thank you for this yummy sounding and looking recipe. I'm going to have to give it a try myself. My 10 yr old loves to cook with me...we actually make some forget me not cookies this afternoon when he got home from school!! Love making fun memories.

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it because the only thing I ever won otherwise was 8 years in a row for my cornbread at a local old country store that held a cornbread cook off every year..I finally retired but I'm still making cornbread! Thank you Holly.....The products will be put to good use. If you are on Facebook please friend me. Adele Daniels Forbes

Thanks for stopping by! I read and appreciate all of your sweet words and the time you have spent on my blog. I try hard to respond to comments and visit your blogs... eventually, but I will be honest life is pretty crazy right now!

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Holly Lefevre

Baking, crafting, making a mess or making beautiful things - that is a
day in the life at 504 Main. I make simple crafts and overly complicated ones
too. I want to be organized...but that has not happened yet. My husband
says "baking isn't my thing" but I just came in first place in a baking
competition...so that all kind of proves you never know what is going to
happen at 504 Main! http://www.504main.com

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